Trump Administration Plans to Buy More $BTC to Build Strategic Reserve

On August 15th, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that confiscated Bitcoin would be used as part of the U.S. Strategic Reserve, and that the U.S. is exploring "budget-neutral" methods to acquire more Bitcoin.

Scott Bessent Indicates Government Bitcoin Purchases Remain Possible Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disappointed some Bitcoin supporters at the start of Thursday's session by stating that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve would consist of $15 billion to $20 billion in government holdings, without any intention of making any new purchases.

However, he appeared to contradict his earlier comments by the end of the day, stating that his department is committed to exploring budget-neutral paths to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve.

Bessent stated that the additional purchases would be in addition to the coins surrendered to the government, which would form the "foundation" of the reserve. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, which Bessent has consistently supported.

Earlier this month, Beau Haines, head of the White House Digital Asset Advisory Council, stated that one of the council's tasks, including SBR, had already liquidated its holdings.

Bitcoin (BTC) continued to trade around $118,000 in late Thursday afternoon in the U.S., having fallen sharply since hitting a new record high of $124,000 hours earlier. The decline came after a much stronger-than-expected Producer Price Index report cast doubt on the view that inflation has retreated enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September.